The Spirituality of "Super Mario Bros."
Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2012 8:09 pm
Similar to my thread about the politics of Super Mario Bros., I wanted to talk about the spiritual messages in the movie, as well. From the opening scene, we're bombarded with science. Evolution and such, until we come to 1973 Brooklyn, when the Queen leaves Daisy on the steps of a Catholic church. Daisy was obviously raised in a very faith-based atmosphere, but because of little plot development on her character, we know little of her personal beliefs.
However, the same cannot be said for the Marios. The first time we see Luigi, he's watching a television program called "The Miraculous World," the word "miraculous" being key, here. But before we see Luigi, the camera pans past a picture of their father, past some plungers, the TV, then Mario, sitting at a desk on the telephone. As soon as we see Mario, a flock of doves fly by the window-- foreshadowing Mario's spiritual revelation that will come at the end of the film. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Luigi, the younger brother, represents faith and belief, where as Mario represents logic and science. Mario is skeptical of everything, particularly the ideas presented on "The Miraculous World," and he's obviously been a cynic for too many years.
Soon after they get called to the job at the River Cafe, Mario says "It's a miracle we made it alive," to which Luigi replies "I thought you didn't believe in miracles, mister tough guy." As the story progresses, Luigi meets Daisy and they go down into the dig to check out the bones, but Scapelli's goons try to sabotage the site, so Luigi and Daisy go back to the apartment and seek out the master plumber's help. Mario is seen hanging a picture on his mirror, when Luigi calls him, Mario spins around and a golden chain is seen hanging around his neck. Now, it's hard to tell, but I believe the pendant on his necklace is a crucifix-- a symbol of the Catholic faith. Daisy was raised in a Catholic environment, Mario and Luigi, being of Italian descent, were most likely baptized Roman Catholic. However, despite all of Mario's cynicism and almost nihilistic view on things, he still wears the cross around his neck-- why? He's a poser. In all likelihood, Mario is probably wearing the cross around his neck to make Luigi happy, because where as Luigi believes in everything, Mario believes in nothing.
Once again, the movie moves on, the brothers land in the alternate dimension and Mario still doesn't believe in what he's seeing. But slowly as the movie progresses, he begins to see there's more to life than just cynicism. He sees he has a reason to fight, and whether it's for Luigi, Daisy, Daniella or simply screwing over Scapelli by letting him get turned into a monkey, Mario has a revelation. And at the end of the movie, Daisy bursts in and says "You're never going to believe this!" To which Mario replies "I believe it." Now Luigi, for the first time is skeptical and asks "You do?" Mario smiles wryly and responds "I believe."
So, in a sense, the movie is about an unbeliever coming to have faith in something bigger than himself. There are many other biblical themes in the film as well, such as a chosen one (Daisy), a "serpent" (Koopa) and the theme of resurrection (the King). In a way, the idea of de-evolution being the downfall of the city is similar to the story of Eden, in which by eating the fruit of knowledge, man seals his fate-- but in this case, the "fruit" was a technology so terrible that it backfired in the man who created it's face and ultimately destroyed him. I could go on and on, but just watch the movie yourself and you be the judge.
However, the same cannot be said for the Marios. The first time we see Luigi, he's watching a television program called "The Miraculous World," the word "miraculous" being key, here. But before we see Luigi, the camera pans past a picture of their father, past some plungers, the TV, then Mario, sitting at a desk on the telephone. As soon as we see Mario, a flock of doves fly by the window-- foreshadowing Mario's spiritual revelation that will come at the end of the film. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Luigi, the younger brother, represents faith and belief, where as Mario represents logic and science. Mario is skeptical of everything, particularly the ideas presented on "The Miraculous World," and he's obviously been a cynic for too many years.
Soon after they get called to the job at the River Cafe, Mario says "It's a miracle we made it alive," to which Luigi replies "I thought you didn't believe in miracles, mister tough guy." As the story progresses, Luigi meets Daisy and they go down into the dig to check out the bones, but Scapelli's goons try to sabotage the site, so Luigi and Daisy go back to the apartment and seek out the master plumber's help. Mario is seen hanging a picture on his mirror, when Luigi calls him, Mario spins around and a golden chain is seen hanging around his neck. Now, it's hard to tell, but I believe the pendant on his necklace is a crucifix-- a symbol of the Catholic faith. Daisy was raised in a Catholic environment, Mario and Luigi, being of Italian descent, were most likely baptized Roman Catholic. However, despite all of Mario's cynicism and almost nihilistic view on things, he still wears the cross around his neck-- why? He's a poser. In all likelihood, Mario is probably wearing the cross around his neck to make Luigi happy, because where as Luigi believes in everything, Mario believes in nothing.
Once again, the movie moves on, the brothers land in the alternate dimension and Mario still doesn't believe in what he's seeing. But slowly as the movie progresses, he begins to see there's more to life than just cynicism. He sees he has a reason to fight, and whether it's for Luigi, Daisy, Daniella or simply screwing over Scapelli by letting him get turned into a monkey, Mario has a revelation. And at the end of the movie, Daisy bursts in and says "You're never going to believe this!" To which Mario replies "I believe it." Now Luigi, for the first time is skeptical and asks "You do?" Mario smiles wryly and responds "I believe."
So, in a sense, the movie is about an unbeliever coming to have faith in something bigger than himself. There are many other biblical themes in the film as well, such as a chosen one (Daisy), a "serpent" (Koopa) and the theme of resurrection (the King). In a way, the idea of de-evolution being the downfall of the city is similar to the story of Eden, in which by eating the fruit of knowledge, man seals his fate-- but in this case, the "fruit" was a technology so terrible that it backfired in the man who created it's face and ultimately destroyed him. I could go on and on, but just watch the movie yourself and you be the judge.
